Kira of the Desert
by TheDimensionalJourneyMan
Summary: An unknown shinobi tricks Shukaku into being sealed into the body of a recently-orphaned 5 year old girl. Now she must become strong to the able to combat those that took everything from her and understand why fate has chosen her path to be entwined with Shukaku's. Set in the timeline of Chp 700 Boruto:NTM era and beyond.
1. Just the two of us

**1\. Just the two of us**

 **Land of Wind, Somewhere south of Sunagakure**

A destroyed cart and 3 bodies were what remained at the aftermath of an unprovoked attack by an unknown shinobi. A set of paw-prints in the sand made by a giant tanuki was also left behind just metres from the attack site. No true shinobi would ever leave a trace of evidence implicating them. Or even survivors to tell the tale.

One of the bodies, that of a female toddler got up as if she was resurrected. Sand swirled around her and when it dissipated, it revealed her mint-green short hair and a tattoo of the kanji for one on top of her left eyebrow. She collapsed on her knees, crying and sobbing at the horrible atrocity that no child as young as her should ever go through.

"Mom, Dad, please wake up." she wailed, her mind not being able to comprehend what happened.

"Please, help me. My parents won't wake up anymore and I don't know what to do."

Despair started to overcome her, unable to fathom why no one would come to her aid. She could only cry more, the only thing she could reasonably do.

"Even if it's those demons from Mom's bedtime stories, just help me please."

Deep inside her mind, something answered her cry.

 **The girl's consciousness**

She became frightened, thinking that she was being taken somewhere where she could never get out as she was dragged towards a room. Upon arrival, she saw a giant, sandy brown tanuki with markings around its body except around its belly, a large tail, and eyes surrounded with black sclerae.

"You were calling me." It replied in an annoyed tone. "What is it you want, little girl? I'm trying to plot my revenge right now."

"Please help me giant scary tanuki." she replied to it. "My parents won't wake up and I don't know what to do."

The tanuki knew he was in a bind. He got tricked by the unknown shinobi thinking he had gold dust that he needed to gain an advantage over a certain nine-tailed kitsune. Now he was sealed inside the girl and is now stuck with her for the rest of her life. His plan now depended on her survival and much-needed training by someone that he knew before.

"Look here little girl. Both of us are in trouble because of that baka that tricked me and killed your parents."

"Killed! Does that mean that they will never wake up again?" she said, about to cry.

"Unfortunately for you, yes. But I have a plan to find your parents' killer and still do what I want to do." he said, knowing that he can at least have an influence on her without wrestling control from his new vessel. "We're going to meet an old container of mine who can train you to become a shinobi that will rival the Nanadaime Hokage."

"I don't understand tanuki-san. And I'm hungry." noticing that her belly rumbled.

"My last container wasn't as annoying as you. But then at least he had a dad around." he said sarcastically.

The girl started to cry again. "Are you mad at me tanuki-san? Am I a bad container?"

"Calm down, little girl, I was just being sarcastic. And stop crying for goodness sake. If we are going to get revenge, then you need to start acting like a shinobi. And they only cry at the right time when no one is around to kill them."

He overlooked that she only had enough strength to get to the nearest town. "But we have to go now. Just do what I say and all will be fine."

 **Attack site**

The girl started walking towards the direction that the tanuki told her to face. While she did that, the tanuki started to sink the site into the sands with his powers. At least her parents' body won't be eaten by vultures.

"And one more thing little girl." the tanuki said. "Since I'm stuck with you for the rest of your life, there's no point in just simply calling me 'tanuki-san', so who are you anyway?"

"My name is Kira, tanuki-san." she replied to her in a weak voice, herself being drained due to constantly crying. "What's yours?"

"Shukaku, the one-tailed demon tanuki of the sand." he said with pride.

"Please don't leave me Shukaku. I don't want to be alone."

"I can't leave you anyway, even if I wanted to. Didn't I say I was stuck with you for the rest of your life."


	2. Hunger and the Puppetmaster

**2\. Hunger and the puppetmaster**

 **Close to an unknown village south of Sunagakure**

Kira has been walking for nearly a day, her strength sapping the longer she goes without food or water, and the hot desert temperature only amplified her hunger, pain, and despair.

"How much further Shukaku-san." Kira said to him weakly. "I'm starving and very thirsty."

"Almost there." Shukaku replied. "Can't you see the village?"

Kira did see some buildings but they were blurry due to her being far from the village. As she got closer to the village, they became more detailed until she saw people and animals and anything that were inside the building. As she arrived, she ran towards the well to get a much needed drink.

"Thank you, Shukaku-san. But I'm still starving."

"Just go find a food stall or something, if niceties don't work then I'll give you some of my power to help."

Kira started to roam the village looking for someone to ask food from. As she roamed, she noticed the glare of some of the elderly villagers as if they were shunning her.

"She's possessed by that demon." one of them said quietly.

"What does Shukaku want now?" another said

She did notice the glares of the people around her. It didn't help that she had no one to help her but Shukaku, and it only made her feel worse.

"Do…they hate me?" she said to him, tears falling from her eyes.

"Don't worry about them." he replied back. "They are simply too scared of real power."

But this did not make her feel better. Even though power can avenge her parents, she needed someone to take care of her right now more than wanting revenge. She finally noticed a bread shop. Without hesitation, she ran to the shop and asked for food.

"Please, can I have something to eat." she said weakly.

"Go away you thief and demon." The shopkeeper replied to her, giving the same glare as the other elderly villagers.

"But I never met you before and I don't have parents anymore."

"Well money isn't plentiful as sand and you look like you made a deal with demons."

"But…" her voice starting to waver due to hunger and despair that no one would help her. She was also on the verge of crying.

"Either you go away or I get the guards." he said angrily.

It was simply too much for her. She collapsed on her knees and started to cry and sob loudly, unable to comprehend the hate and loneliness that she felt. Deep inside she called for Shukaku to help her.

"Please...you're the only one I have."

"Alright, alright, I'll help you. Only because you can't actually help yourself."

The shopkeeper was immediately scared of the sight of Kira slowly transforming herself partly into Shukaku. The other villagers also noticed this and started to flee the area.

"Give me something to eat or I'll kill you!" she growled in a demonic voice.

A part of her didn't want to kill the shopkeeper, but when one partially transforms into a tailed beast, the untrained lose their sense of mercy and goodness. This time, her and Shukaku's anger and hatred were in control.

"Do I have to kill you to get what I want?" she growled in absence of a response from the shopkeeper.

"Alright! I'll give you anything! Just don't kill me." he replied in terror and fear of her. He gave her a bag full of bread and two waterskins just in case she asked for it. Then he ran away to avoid being killed. Her transformation started to recede until she returned to her old appearance. But she still kept crying weakly as she took the supplies that she scared off the shopkeeper.

"Does everyone…hate me?" she said to the tanuki inside of her.

"Look here Kira," Shukaku replied. "Someone will always look down on you because you have me inside of you but one day, they will respect you just like my last container."

"It…just doesn't look like it. I just want someone…to just take care of me and never leave me. It's not fair that I have no one else now."

"Come on, you're not that alone. You still…have me I guess." he said awkwardly in an attempt to cheer her up. He would never be this hospitable to anyone, much less his new and previous container. But this reminded him of something that he had forgotten. But he decided to dismiss this thought and focus and getting Kira to Suna to find his previous container.

"But stop crying now." he continued. "Now's the time to find my old container and train you to become a shinobi. Didn't you say you were going to avenge your parents."

"Yeah…I guess." Kira replied. She picked up her supplies and started walking from the village to the direction of Sunagakure as directed by Shukaku.

Unknown to both of them, a retired Suna ANBU noticed her partial transformation and decided to warn the Kazekage about the incident.

"I better tell the Kazekage that Shukaku has been sealed inside this girl before the other villages find out." he thought.

 **Kazekage's Office, Sunagakure**

The retired Suna ANBU was running towards the office when he was stopped by Kankurō.

"Hold on, the Kazekage is not taking visitors right now." he said to the ANBU.

"This is urgent and it's strictly for the Kage's ears only." the ANBU replied.

"Let him in." Gaara said from the room.

"Thank you, Gaara-sama." he said as he rushed to the office, with Kankurō not even stopping him from entering.

"It's bad." the ANBU started. "Someone has sealed Shukaku into the body of a young girl."

"How did that happen?" Gaara responded. "The only person in Suna that can seal Shukaku is long gone."

"I don't know, but I saw the girl transforming partially into the tanuki when a shopkeeper refused to give her food. The girl is just a toddler who has been orphaned."

"What did she look like, this girl?" Kankurō asked, now interested in why Shukaku would have a new jinchūriki.

"Mint green short hair, a tattoo just like Gaara-sama's except it says 'one'."

"I see." Gaara said. "Kankurō, see to it that the girl is taken to the village immediately. Also," he turned to the ANBU. "since you have taken initiative to report this even if you are retired, I'll see to it that you are moved here so you can retire in safety."

"Thank you, Gaara-sama." he replied.

After the ANBU left the room, Gaara gave Kankurō a piece of paper that contained a sealing formula.

"This is just in case she starts partially transforming into Shukaku, but if you can't suppress him, there's no shame in retreating and letting me handle her."

"Even if we bring her here, what will the other villages think of this?" his older brother asked.

"I'll convene a Kage Summit here once we have her in the village." he replied. "In any case, we have to make sure no more jinchūriki are being created as all villages have agreed with the tailed beasts on this matter."

"And what will happen to the girl?"

"I will help her make the burden she has to carry easier in way I can. She and I were Shukaku's jinchūriki after all."

 **The desert, South of Sunagakure**

It was night time and although it was much cooler and bearable than the day, she is making slow progress in travelling. Even with supplies, Kira is still exhausted and is starting to feel the effects of insomnia from not sleeping for two days straight.

"Shukaku-san…please let me sleep." Kira begged, wanting to rest from travelling for the night.

"We travel in the night so you don't have to travel in scorching heat." he explained. "Unless that and being very thirsty is your preferred way of travelling."

"It's not just that. I feel like you're...trying to take over me when I'm about to fall asleep."

"I can't help myself with that. It's a quirk I have and you get because you're my container. Seriously, I'll let you sleep once were there if that is what it will take for you to stop complaining."

"I just feel like you're going to kill someone while I'm asleep. And what if they blame me?" Kira said in a weary tone.

"Come on, don't you-

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted when she noticed an eyeball floating just metres in front of her. Out of curiosity, she tried to grab it but it turned to sand before she could grab it.

"Shukaku…I think someone is watching us."

Back in Sunagakure, Gaara relayed Kira's position to Kankurō via Sand Clone for him to find and capture her. In the desert, she noticed a rattling sound which turned out to be the sound of what she thought was a giant ant with many arms coming in to attack her. Out of instinct, she manipulated the sand to capture her attacker and crush it. From a hidden place, Kankurō was dismayed by one of his Kuroari being destroyed so easily.

"That's the second time I have to completely rebuild Kuroari." he thought. He decides to reveal himself and summons the Sasori and the second Kuroari puppets.

"Who would want to kill me?" Kira thought. She then notices a second giant ant, a red-haired man, and a large jackal, which unknown to her due to hallucinating from a lack of sleep, were actually Kankurō controlling his two puppets.

"I'm not going to die!" she shouted, starting to partially transform to Shukaku out of fear of dying. "Sand Shuriken."

Kankurō got hit by some of the many sand shuriken but was not seriously injured due to him rapidly summoning Sanshōuo to block most of the attacks.

"This is bad, the transformation has already begun." he thought. He placed the sealing paper into one of Sasori's arms and sent it and Kuroari rapidly towards her. She tried to manipulate Shukaku's sand arms in an attempt to capture both puppets, but Kankurō managed to place the sealing paper onto her forehead, forcefully receding the transformation and returning her to normal. He wasted no time throwing a sedative-laced senbon at her arm and soon enough, she started to fall asleep.

"I'm going to die…" she said weakly as she collapsed into the sand, believing that she will be killed by the three creatures. Kankurō overheard this and only had sympathy for her and the life that she has been forced into.

"You're in safe hands now." he said to the now sleeping toddler.

"Now to find out where one of my Kuroari is buried in this place and take her back to a medic-nin." he said to himself as he picked her up after storing away his unbroken puppets.


	3. Introductions

**3\. Introductions**

 **Sunagakure**

Kira was taken back to Sunagakure by Kankuro after finding the remains of one of his Kuroari puppets. When he got to the hospital there, he found his younger brother and Matsuri waiting for him.

"Is that the orphaned kid?" Matsuri said to him as he laid Kira in one of the beds.

"Yeah. She was the reason I have to rebuild one of my puppets again." he replied. "Still better than Shukaku destroying the village though."

Gaara looked at the girl. She reminded him of a certain kunoichi he met before but cannot seem to remember it. But he knew that she shared a bond with him; both had Shukaku sealed inside them, even though he is at loss why he would take on another container after agreeing to not being sealed into someone else ever again.

"Shukaku," he said to Kira, not knowing her name. "Care to explain why you're sealed inside her."

"Obviously not of my free will dumbass." the tanuki replied after emerging from inside her in a chibi version of himself. "Some shinobi tricked me into getting sealed inside her."

"Seems to me that you're still very gullible when it comes to finding an advantage over your rival." referring to Kurama.

"Come on, it's not like I was planning to kill Naruto to do that. If I want to challenge him, I'd wait until he's dead because I have centuries to prepare anyway."

"But did you even remember what the person that sealed you look like?"

"No…" he said regretfully. "Uggh. I can't believe myself!" this time embarrased. Kankuro and Matsuri laughed at his outburst.

"I'll claw your face off if Gaara would only let me." the tanuki said angrily to the two.

"At least we can ask the others if the same fate has befallen them." Gaara said after the others calmed down. "I've already told the other Kage to come here as soon as possible."

Kira started showing signs of waking up due to the laughter of Kankuro and Matsuri, which forced Shukaku to recede back inside her. When she woke up, she first saw Kankuro, which only scared her due to recognising him from their recent confrontation.

"Ahh! Get away from me!" she shouted at the puppetmaster. She manipulated some sand to push him to a wall but was not pinned against it for long due to Gaara's intervention. She immediately made a run for it towards the hospital exit but was quickly blocked by a giant wall of sand. She tried to call upon Shukaku's power but the transformation would not take effect due to the sealing paper stuck in her forehead.

"It's not going to work if you don't rip it out." Shukaku said to her.

She formed a sand sphere around herself to protect her from those that she believed would kill her. She tried to remove the sealing paper but it refused to budge, as if it was magnetically stuck in her forehead.

"Don't bother trying to remove it." Gaara said to her. "Only I can remove the seal."

"Why are you all trying to kill me?" Kira said to Gaara, not knowing his identity. "I never did anything to you."

Kankuro realised that she was still shaken from the time he was trying to capture her. He slowly approached the sand sphere that was protecting her.

"Hey, I wasn't planning to kill you." he said to her. "Those creatures that you saw were myself and my puppets." He summoned the puppets he used to capture her to prove it. She looked outside through a hole in her sphere and saw that the red-haired man and the giant ant were not real and the large jackal was actually a man wearing paint and a black hood with pointed ears.

"Hey, we only wanted to help you." Matsuri said to Kira in a reassuring tone.

"These guys are fine." Shukaku joined in. "And the red-haired guy is the old container I was talking about."

This was enough for her to lower her sand sphere. However, she broke down afterwards.

"My parents are…dead." she said to the three, crying. "Shukaku is…the only one I have left and…everyone hates me…just for being stuck with him."

"It's alright now." Gaara said to her. "We'll take care of you and make sure that everyone will accept you as you are and not as Shukaku."

"Don't worry about him too much." Kankuro joined in, referring to the tanuki. "He's not going to destroy the village and he's in no position to do so anyway."

"I will if you piss me off enough." the tanuki thought.

"Just you wait, you stupid kitsune. When my container is ready, you will wish you didn't have your tails."

Meanwhile, Kira was having her first proper meal in days since losing her parents. Kankuro, Gaara and Matsuri joined her in eating

"So what's your name?" Matsuri asked her.

"Kira. My family never bothered with surnames."

"Same with mine." Gaara joined in.

"Are you Shukaku's last container?" she asked the Kazekage.

"I was. Until the Akatsuki extracted him from me and I died." he said coldy.

"Wait, does that mean you're a ghost?" Kira said, unable to comprehend what exactly happened to him.

"No silly." Kankurō replied to her. "He was brought back by someone close to us."

"I don't get at all…" she said in a dejected tone, her age not allowing her to understand life and death fully.

Gaara chuckled, a rare thing anyone saw from him.

"Kira, you'll be meeting with my fellow Kage by nightfall." returning to his normal tone.

"Why?"

"We have made an agreement with the tailed beasts. What happened to you will have them questioning our commitment to that agreement."

 **Later in the evening in the Five Kage Summit**

Kira was in a large room with Gaara and Kankuro on their section of the table. Next to her were Naruto and Chojuro, the Hokage and Mizukage. In front of her were Kurotsuchi and Darui, the Tsuchikage and the Raikage. Chibi forms of the tailed beasts except for Matatabi were also sitting around the table except for her, Naruto, and Killer Bee, the current jinchuriki of their respective tailed beasts.

"Welcome my fellow Kages." Gaara started. "I have convened this summit because a few days ago, our agreement to the tailed beasts were broken by an unknown shinobi, who sealed Shukaku inside of Kira, who is now orphaned and under my care and protection."

"I can't believe this!" Son Goku responded. "I suspect Gaara to be trying something."

"Hold on, brother." Kokuō objected. "This isn't the time to start pointing fingers."

"I agree with dolphin-face here, you fools." Killer Bee said with his trademark rapping voice. "We come so far, we cannot just go back to punching each other over little things."

"That doesn't make any sense but otherwise I agree." Darui said. "We have to get to the bottom of this."

The other Kage joined him in agreement.

"If none of the Kages intentionally created another jinchūriki, maybe another Ōtsutsuki like Toneri was responsible for this." Isobu suggested.

"That makes a lot of sense." Naruto responded. "But unless we have solid evidence, were not going to be able to do anything to capture this guy. Man, it's like Obito pretending to be Madara again except we don't even know what he looks like."

"Maybe Kira knows something we don't." Kurotsuchi responded to Naruto. "After all, she would be there to witness Shukaku being sealed inside her."

"We could ask my village's intelligence division to look inside her mind but right now we…

While the Kage and the tailed beasts were discussing how to deal with the new threat, Kira was looking at Naruto with curiousity, wondering if he was the Hokage that Shukaku said she was going to rival.

"He is the one." Shukaku said, who intercepted her thought.

"Why him?" Kira replied. "He seems to be friendly."

"News flash kid, he is your rival. Don't you see it?"

She didn't get what he meant, but then she noticed something inside of the Hokage, something very powerful and partly angry.

 **Kira's consciousness**

She was taken to the same place where she first met Shukaku but instead, she saw a giant orange kitsune with nine tails. It's red eyes immediately looked at her with contempt.

"So, Shukaku has found himself a new container." It said to her. "Your setting yourself for disappointment if you think you could defeat me."

"Hah." the tanuki responded as he appeared behind Kira. "She will be the one who will make you eat your own words, hahahaha."

"What's going on?" she asked the two.

"Well," the kitsune replied to her. "Shukaku is still trying to surpass me as always, and we were supposed to talk about how he got inside you in the first place."

"Well it isn't of my own free will if you're asking me." Shukaku replied. "It was this shinobi who…" He became silent, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of his rival.

"Tricked the both of us?" Kira completed.

"Noooo!" The tanuki screamed at her. "How dare you tell him!"

The kitsune laughed at Shukaku, which only made him madder.

"You're going to wish you haven't-

"Guys cut it out!" Naruto cut him off as he appeared. "We're just about to talk about-. He noticed Kira in the middle of the two. "Oh, hey Kira-chan. I didn't know you were talking to Kurama."

"I was just reminding her of her place." The kitsune said to Naruto.

She looked at Naruto. He seemed to be friendly and welcoming, unlike the kitsune behind him.

"Well…Shukaku said I have to defeat you someday." he said to the Hokage.

"Well now…" he said, unsure of how to answer without ruining her hopes or disappointing her. "Maybe you should become a chunin first." he said with confidence. "Even I had to start somewhere."

"Oh…" she replied, disappointed and sad. "I just want to become stronger…so I can…find the person who killed…my parents." Tears were starting to fall from her face.

"Come on don't be sad." Naruto replied in his usual friendly demeanor. "I'm sure you'll find him or her and become a great shinobi along the way."

Kira smiled for the first time since the attack. She wanted someone to care, even if later down the line she would have to fight him. Shukaku noticed this.

"Don't you dare start being that friendly to him." Shukaku snarled.

"Maybe they aren't so bad after all." She replied to him, only to get a grunt from him.

 **Back at the Kage Summit**

"…the only tailed beast that isn't here is Matatabi!" Chojuro said to all, who somehow didn't notice it until the young Mizukage mentioned it.

"Just like old times." Isobu thought to himself. "But why would she play hide and seek right in the middle of this incident?"

"It seems there is only one thing we can reasonably do in this situation." Gaara responded. "We have to carefully monitor any suspicious activity around the areas where the tailed beasts reside."

"I honestly don't like the thought of being watched," Kokuo responded. "But it's still far more tolerable than being forcefully sealed into a jinchuriki again."

The other tailed beasts reluctantly agreed to Gaara's proposition.

"So it's settled then guys. If you guys are in serious trouble, then just tell me." Naruto said to the tailed beasts.

"Oh, don't forget me too. Just in case Naruto gets all buried in Hokage paperwork." Bee joined in.

"Of course we will, Naruto." Kokuo replied for his brethren.

By now, Kira was starting to feel sleepy from the meeting that she thought was uninteresting except for the conversation with Naruto and Kurama. Still, she pondered why would Shukaku want to defeat someone who was simply on a completely new league from most shinobi. This was interrupted when Naruto waved at her as he was leaving.

"Good luck Kira-chan. I believe you'll become a great shinobi." the Hokage said to her before leaving, which made her happy both on the inside and outside but annoyed Shukaku.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry if I didn't update as scheduled. I was focusing on job-hunting due to the fact that my current job is not enough to allow me to be independent. I also have a good idea of what will happen in the next few chapters. I would like a honest review of my story so far.


	4. Vision of a Nightmare

**4\. Vision of a Nightmare**

 **Kira's new house in Sunagakure**

Gaara has given Kira a modest apartment that was close to his office. It had one bedroom and bathroom, a small kitchen and a balcony that pointed towards the only entrance to the village. Kira went straight for the bed as she was sleepy from the Kage Summit and talking to Naruto and Kurama in her subconscious. Soon, she fell asleep, finally able to sleep in a proper bed and entered into a dream.

 **Dream sequence**

Kira saw a room that was similar to her bedroom but it was more furnished and decorated. She also saw her mother, who had the same mint-green hair as her but was longer.

"Kaa-chan?" Kira said to her. "Is that you?"

"Of course it is, Kira." her mother replied to her as Kira went to hug her.

"Is there something wrong my child?"

"It's lonely here…I wish I had someone to play with."

"Don't worry my child. Where your father is working, there will be other children to play with. It's not too big, but we are going to be safe there."

"Does grandfather live there?"

"I'm afraid not." she said sorrowfully, hugging her tightly. "He died a long time ago, long before you were born. The only relative we have now is your aunt, and I have never set my eyes on her."

"Can you tell me more about ba-chan?"

"Well…" she started, trying to collect what little she knew about her sister to tell to her daughter. "Something terrible happened to her…"

But at that moment, everything started to fade. She tried to hear what more her mother would say, but her mind whisked her off to another place. This time, it was in a desert but she was in a cart lying down on her mother's lap while her father drove the cart.

"Tou-san…" she said sleepily. "How much further?"

"Not long now, my dear." he replied. "We just have to travel for two more days, then we can have a proper meal and introduce you to the Kazekage."

"Kaze…kage?"

"Yes dear." her mother joined in. "Apparently, he has taken an interest in both of us. He said he might know-

But a sudden rumbling that felt like an earthquake stopped the cart. She carried Kira like how one would carry a newborn child while her daughter held on tightly. When they went out of the cart to take a look, the entire family saw a giant sandy-brown tanuki that Kira already knew was Shukaku, but not that time.

"What is it you want?" her father asked him.

"I just want your gold."

"But…we don't have any! All of my savings are in Suna and we only have enough to pay for food."

"The hell!" the tanuki said to him. "A shinobi told me you had tons of gold with you."

"Please! I swear on all the kami, I don't have much gold! Please don't hurt my wife and daughter!" apparently now terrified. Kira was crying loudly and her mother was trying to comfort her as much as she could. As the standoff continued, an unknown shinobi appeared and seemed to fly close to Shukaku's head.

"We had a deal! Tell me where the gold is or-

He became silent immediately as the shinobi placed the tanuki on a genjutsu, his head dropped down as if he had fallen asleep at that moment. The shinobi then created a rod from his hand and threw it at Kira's father, killing him and traumatising her and his wife.

"Tou-san…" she said weakly, feeling helpless and tears already falling from her face.

"Leave us alone!" her mother screamed at the shinobi.

 **Meanwhile in reality**

Shukaku found himself in his chibi form at Kira's bed. He was surprised by this, as he knew she couldn't be able to summon him from her body. He didn't have time to figure out as he found himself unceremoniously hugged by Kira, who was now experiencing a nightmare.

"What the hell!" he screamed. "Stop hugging me! This is embarrassing."

He tried pushing himself out of her grasp, but her hold of him kept tightening.

"What's wrong with you? I am not a teddy bear!"

Shukaku took advantage of his mostly-sand body to turn himself into a stream of sand to get some distance from her. He reformed himself in a bedside table, still shocked at her unwanted display of affection.

"Seriously can you give me some respect and not turn me into your cuddly toy?" the tanuki said angrily at her, who was still unconsciously trying to hug anything within her reach.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" he thought. "Not even Gaara has this kind of nightmare the first time he shrugged off my threat of possessing him if he fell asleep."

 **Back at the dream sequence**

Kira looked horrified and was trembling as her mother's now-lifeless body fell face-first into the sand.

"Leave…me…alone." she said weakly to the unknown shinobi as he looked at her and pointed his finger at her.

"I will use you as my tool for purging those who refuse to bow!" he boomed to her as a small orb of dark energy formed around the arm that pointed at her.

She was immediately dragged towards the shinobi until she was a meter in front of him. His purple eyes flashed in her mind as he put her under a genjutsu. She immediately saw herself in a fiery realm with the shinobi.

"Feel the eternal punishment reserved for those who refuse to bow!" he shouted at her. In that instant, she was stabbed by several rods that impaled her heart, arms and feet. She screamed in agony as she felt that her consciousness started to fade away.

However, before she seemed to meet her end, her mind whisked her off to another place. She was taken to a pitch black place where there seemed to be nothing to see.

"Was…that real?" she said, trembling and feeling unable to move from the traumatic experience. Suddenly, she heard a teenage girl's voice.

"It's…not fair!" it said in a sad and anguished voice.

"I couldn't even…find any friends…or someone…who wanted to spend their life with me."

"I don't…want to die! I don't…want to be forgotten!"

Then she heard a blood-curdling scream of pain as she was abruptly sent back to the waking life.

 **After the dream**

"Finally you woke up." Shukaku said to her from the balcony at her apartment.

"It was…scary." she said to him. She was shaking and in tears from the dream she experienced. "I saw that shinobi…killing my parents!" She broke down crying and curled herself to a fetal position.

"I'm so helpless. I can't do anything."

"Well I can't believe you're such a coward and so disrespectful at the same time!" the tanuki responded.

"I just want to see my parents again…and find my ba-chan."

"Didn't I tell you already that crying won't help you at all? The only thing that will help you-" he cut himself off, shocked at what he was about to say. "What I mean is that you have to do something other than sitting there and crying like a helpless baby."

Kira said nothing, too shocked to do anything and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

 **A few hours later, the mindscape**

"Shukaku-kun?" she called out to him.

"What?" the tanuki answered rudely.

"Are you mad at me?" noticing his tone.

"Well…you violated my personal space!" he shouted at her, still angry that Kira tried to hug him.

"Sorry…I had a nightmare." she apologised. After being deep in thought, she was ready to ask the tanuki something.

"Can you be…my nii-san?"

"What…" he replied, shocked at her question. "Why the hell would you want me…as you nii-san? I'm not the family-friendly type."

"Didn't you say that...you were stuck with me? It's just that…I want to get along with you…"

Shukaku was surprised by her response. He did not expect her to be friendly with him, as he was remembered more for almost destroying the village and other crimes before Naruto came into the lives of the tailed beasts. He said nothing for the longest time, but Kira cut him off before he could say anything.

"It's fine if you don't want to see me as your Imouto." she said to him happily. "I'll still call you nii-san. After all, you're the only one who's going to be around with me." She disappeared from the mindscape, leaving the tanuki still in shock about his container's request.

"Why does it has to be me?" he thought to himself. "I'd make a bad nii-san." He tried to recall his early years with other tailed beasts. Although he did not remember much immediately, he still remembered playing with Matatabi and Isobu.

"If only she showed up and bothered to hang around, I'd ask her how the hell am I supposed to be a nii-san. That baka didn't even show up to the Kage Summit."

 **Epilogue. Somewhere in the Shinobi world**

"I barely made it out alive." a man said to himself as he arrived at the shore of an unknown area of the landmass. He had stolen a boat that ferried him across the ocean, but it sustained heavy damage as he escaped.

"Atleast, I can warn the others about him." He had short and spiky mint-green hair and wore leather armour emblazoned with the symbol of a sword stabbing a book on its left shoulder. However, his armour and hair would now be covered with a brown cloak he retrieved from the shipwrecked boat. He then set off travelling to civilisation. While he was travelling, he retrieved from his satchel what seems to be a forehead protector of Takigakure, but there was a large horizontal scratch across the symbol. He still looked at it fondly though, as he reminisced of his past life in the shinobi world.

"Cousin. I guess I get to see you again."


End file.
